Mollymoose, I filled out the form myself. My MIL only owned 1 old vehicle, had $600 in checking account and that's it. House was in foreclosure. Husband was already a ward of the county at that point. I think the paperwork depends on the complexity of the assets, co-mingling of such and what state/county one lives in. I would actually download and look at the form before contacting a lawyer to do it. But thanks for reminding that the NHs financial persona can help with the app!
Have you talked to the financial person at the nursing home? At the one my mom is in, you let them know when the resident will be below $2,000 (the limit for assets in GA). They gave us a list of all info they need. We went in with the info, the employee flipped through it, made copies, completed all paperwork for DFACS/Medicaid or whomever. My brother signed forms when told & I watched. It took about 30-45 min. Couldn’t believe how easy the nursing home made it for us. My brother got a call about two weeks later from DFACS (?), then he got an approval letter in the mail. Mom is allowed to keep $70.00 a month for personal needs from her SS & pension, with Medicaid paying all the rest.
We almost paid a lawyer $2,000 dollars to complete the paperwork so that we wouldn’t have to because we heard the paperwork was a nightmare.
First confirm that the facility actually accepts Medicaid residents! Not all of them do. Depending on your state the app can take a minimum of 3 months to process. Whoever is managing her finances will be able to know how much lead time will be needed. Don't wait until she is completely out of funds and don't worry if the running out of funds doesn't match up exactly with the Medicaid app approval. NHs deal with this all the time.
Download the app from the county in which your mom currently resides (the SNF she is in). It's usually in the Dept. of Health and Human Services for that county. For the app process, you will need to provide current asset information of the applicant. Make sure you make copies of everything you send to them (do not send originals unless they ask for originals).
Depending on the state, there is a 5-year "look back" period so the county can come back a request more info, up to their look-back range. All communications will come through the mail. If you get something in the mail you must open it right away as they have deadlines of about 1 week to return additional info requested.
In the SNF, being on Medicaid means your mom will received the same quality of care and amount of attention, she will be moved to a shared room, as Medicaid does not pay for private rooms. If your mom doesn't yet qualify, the county will inform you of the "spend down" amount, which is how much she is over their limit. If anyone has comingled funds or assets with her, this will need to be explained. If she has any outstanding medical, dental or pharma bills the county will need you to list those as well (and if they were incurred in the 3 months leading up to the app, they will pay for those if I remember correctly). Your mom needs to reapply for Medicaid every year on the anniversary of when she qualified the prior year. It doesn't matter if nothing financially has changed.
Make a copy of the completed app and get it in the mail immediately so that it doesn't "expire". You can call the county and ask for an update, but my MIL lived in a rural area and it wasn't much effort to get the county's attention, but may not be the case if you're in a more urban area.
Depending on the state, it can take a long time for it to go into effect. The NH can advise you. but you can probably go ahead and start the process. Where we live, It covers pretty much everything mom needs. She is left with $62 per month from her SS and annuity income - the facility takes the rest and Medicaid makes up the difference.
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We almost paid a lawyer $2,000 dollars to complete the paperwork so that we wouldn’t have to because we heard the paperwork was a nightmare.
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Download the app from the county in which your mom currently resides (the SNF she is in). It's usually in the Dept. of Health and Human Services for that county. For the app process, you will need to provide current asset information of the applicant. Make sure you make copies of everything you send to them (do not send originals unless they ask for originals).
Depending on the state, there is a 5-year "look back" period so the county can come back a request more info, up to their look-back range. All communications will come through the mail. If you get something in the mail you must open it right away as they have deadlines of about 1 week to return additional info requested.
In the SNF, being on Medicaid means your mom will received the same quality of care and amount of attention, she will be moved to a shared room, as Medicaid does not pay for private rooms. If your mom doesn't yet qualify, the county will inform you of the "spend down" amount, which is how much she is over their limit. If anyone has comingled funds or assets with her, this will need to be explained. If she has any outstanding medical, dental or pharma bills the county will need you to list those as well (and if they were incurred in the 3 months leading up to the app, they will pay for those if I remember correctly). Your mom needs to reapply for Medicaid every year on the anniversary of when she qualified the prior year. It doesn't matter if nothing financially has changed.
Make a copy of the completed app and get it in the mail immediately so that it doesn't "expire". You can call the county and ask for an update, but my MIL lived in a rural area and it wasn't much effort to get the county's attention, but may not be the case if you're in a more urban area.